Company gives creative space for Indigenous artists
- Mika Lafond | January 05, 2015
When Marty Ballentyne relocated from Saskatchewan to Ontario in September, he had no idea that an invitation for coffee and muffins, a jam session, and a friend’s visit would turn into an opportunity that Marty says has empowered him and inspired him to give back to the Indigenous arts community.
The friend who came to visit was Juno-award winner Derek Miller. Derek invited Marty to be a partner in the new media powerhouse 6 Arrows Media located on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. The partnership also included Gary Joseph and Shane Powless of Thru the RedDoor multimedia studio. Marty accepted, excited to work with respected and experienced individuals like Gary, Derek, and Shane. The group began meeting and plans were put in place for a live-stream launch from their website on November 1, 2014.
The vision for 6 Arrows Media began nearly fifteen years ago, Marty said. The dream was to establish a creative space for Indigenous artists. Thru the RedDoor studio offers that space with the capabilities to support recording, live streaming, video production, and live performances. The focus for 6 Arrows Media is to provide that space to young, emerging, and established Indigenous Artists to benefit their careers. With his own fifteen-year-old son in mind, Marty said, he hoped to help the partnership provide opportunities for youth interested in music. The partners have over twenty years experience in the industry, and wanted to share that experience with other artists so they won’t have to face the same barriers in their careers as previous generations of Indigenous artists.
Although only up and running for a month, the success of the venture was immediate as their first live-stream launch, including artists Brent Diabo, Cheri Maracle, Ras Haile X, Behold the Shadows, The Ollivanders, Logan Staats, Jeff Doreen, and Chilly Chase, was viewed worldwide. And again when Logan Staats, APCMA winner of the band Ghost Town Orchestra was the first artist signed to 6 AM’s new music label. With the November 28th live-stream of well-known comedian Ryan McMahon, 6 Arrows Media continued to create waves in Indigenous media.
Marty said that future program plans for 6 Arrows Media are to nurture existing talent in communities, create youth development opportunities, and to work with elders as mentors. He said that 6 Arrows Media is about bringing the Indigenous community together. The programs are planned to remain centered around Indigenous philosophy of inter-generational sharing and learning experiences. One idea that they are currently working to bring to fruition is a program where youth and elders are connected in a creative environment together. The elders and youth would be given the opportunity to work with one another using televisual and interactive technology to create a project together.
The partners invite artists to contact 6 Arrows Media to find out about more opportunities. Information about 6 Arrows Media can be found on their website. They are also on Twitter @6ArrowsMedia and have a Facebook page: 6 Arrows Media.
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